Kona Misser replica 1997
- Thread starter al-onestare
- Start date
Three notable updates 
Firstly, who's heard of or used buyee? This is a new source to me. It's an international front-end to Japanese auction sites, including the Japanese version of ebay. You purchase through buyee, who purchase from the seller. Goods are shipped to buyee's warehouses where it can sit for up to 30 days. This means you can collate multiple purchases and have them ship it in one parcel (size permitting). You pay a small % fee to buyee for the transaction.
I trailed it with a used XTR M950 cassette, which including shipping with Fedex and taxes, cost less than £45. A great result, because it's in super condition.
Fitting it to the hub, I noticed there wasn't enough clearance, with the rear spider rubbing on the wider Bulb hub. Luckily I had a spare cassette spacer, and now it spins freely. It's pretty tight but it should work fine.
Secondly, in a curious but brilliant set of events, I've found the original owner of this bike. It's the first time I've ever corresponded with an original owner, so I'm super stoked, especially since he has pictures of the bike from back in the day, and it's various build incarnations. Here's a teaser.
Unsurprisingly, he is based in the south-east of England, not far from where I purchased it back in 2019. He bought it new, full build for...wait for it...deep breath...£5,700
That's north of £10k in today's money. I haven't had the cheek to ask how he could afford it! It was no garage queen and saw a lot of action, raced locally around the south.
He confirmed the disc tab was an after-market addition (he can't remember where or when), and the Bombers it came with were the last forks he had fitted. He was able to confirm it was his due to the modification he made to the top swing arm. @mk one has rightly pointed out that the BB is a little on the high side. If you look closely, the stays are sloping downwards towards the rear wheel, not parallel to the ground. This is due to the shock, which is longer travel than the original Fox unit. He purchased this later on, but saw that the swing arm would hit the seat-tube. So he filed a small amount off. You might remember on purchase, I noticed there was some foam added around this area too. That was all his work.
I've been toying with returning it to it's correct set-up but at the moment, I've leaving as is. It tells a story about how the bike was used and enjoyed, and neatly demonstrates the era where the technology and set-ups were evolving from one week to the next.
It turns out the owner knows most of the folks I've been chatting with about the bike. He did have the Hope rotor I needed but he gave that away to Jamie for the Rob Warner project! Instead, I grabbed a lovely RaceFace big ring from him. I may not use it, but it's handy to have for now.
Thirdly, the chaps from Mondraker confirmed the chain-guide that Tomi used, and was pictured using in the Spanish "Bike" magazine feature, was a proto-type Roox Chain Dog, the single version, not the Cat and Dog version. The finish is raw steel rather than black, and he changed the plates too. Helpful intel.
For the record, this is the current shopping list. If you have anything in the parts bin that would be suitable, please let me know
Drivetrain
- Shimano XTR SL-M950 right side shifter (rear mech)
- Shimano XTR M950 DH (downhill) cranks and single big ring, 5 bolt spider, and BB (1st gen Octalink). I would consider M952 if it was in great nick.
Brakes
- Any Hope C2 levers/component spares
- Hope C2 (or nearest equivalent) 180mm rotor, 5 bolt
Other
- Hutchinson On The Rocks II or best equivalents incl. Squale, 2.1" minimum, 26" of course. Would also consider other DH tyres of the era e.g., Maxxis Lopes Bling Bling
- X-Lite Ti Kevlar saddle, red or orange, or SDG equivalents incl. Ti Comps, red or yellow kevlar sides, etc.
- Shimano DX PD-M636 peddles
- Roox Chain Dog or DMR chain guide, seat-tube bolt on top, BB bottom half, or best equivalent
- Hope 1st gen rear skewer, silver or red
- Any spare X-Lite headset spacers, red or grey
Firstly, who's heard of or used buyee? This is a new source to me. It's an international front-end to Japanese auction sites, including the Japanese version of ebay. You purchase through buyee, who purchase from the seller. Goods are shipped to buyee's warehouses where it can sit for up to 30 days. This means you can collate multiple purchases and have them ship it in one parcel (size permitting). You pay a small % fee to buyee for the transaction.
I trailed it with a used XTR M950 cassette, which including shipping with Fedex and taxes, cost less than £45. A great result, because it's in super condition.
Fitting it to the hub, I noticed there wasn't enough clearance, with the rear spider rubbing on the wider Bulb hub. Luckily I had a spare cassette spacer, and now it spins freely. It's pretty tight but it should work fine.
Secondly, in a curious but brilliant set of events, I've found the original owner of this bike. It's the first time I've ever corresponded with an original owner, so I'm super stoked, especially since he has pictures of the bike from back in the day, and it's various build incarnations. Here's a teaser.
Unsurprisingly, he is based in the south-east of England, not far from where I purchased it back in 2019. He bought it new, full build for...wait for it...deep breath...£5,700
That's north of £10k in today's money. I haven't had the cheek to ask how he could afford it! It was no garage queen and saw a lot of action, raced locally around the south.He confirmed the disc tab was an after-market addition (he can't remember where or when), and the Bombers it came with were the last forks he had fitted. He was able to confirm it was his due to the modification he made to the top swing arm. @mk one has rightly pointed out that the BB is a little on the high side. If you look closely, the stays are sloping downwards towards the rear wheel, not parallel to the ground. This is due to the shock, which is longer travel than the original Fox unit. He purchased this later on, but saw that the swing arm would hit the seat-tube. So he filed a small amount off. You might remember on purchase, I noticed there was some foam added around this area too. That was all his work.
I've been toying with returning it to it's correct set-up but at the moment, I've leaving as is. It tells a story about how the bike was used and enjoyed, and neatly demonstrates the era where the technology and set-ups were evolving from one week to the next.
It turns out the owner knows most of the folks I've been chatting with about the bike. He did have the Hope rotor I needed but he gave that away to Jamie for the Rob Warner project! Instead, I grabbed a lovely RaceFace big ring from him. I may not use it, but it's handy to have for now.
Thirdly, the chaps from Mondraker confirmed the chain-guide that Tomi used, and was pictured using in the Spanish "Bike" magazine feature, was a proto-type Roox Chain Dog, the single version, not the Cat and Dog version. The finish is raw steel rather than black, and he changed the plates too. Helpful intel.
For the record, this is the current shopping list. If you have anything in the parts bin that would be suitable, please let me know
Drivetrain
- Shimano XTR SL-M950 right side shifter (rear mech)
- Shimano XTR M950 DH (downhill) cranks and single big ring, 5 bolt spider, and BB (1st gen Octalink). I would consider M952 if it was in great nick.
Brakes
- Any Hope C2 levers/component spares
- Hope C2 (or nearest equivalent) 180mm rotor, 5 bolt
Other
- Hutchinson On The Rocks II or best equivalents incl. Squale, 2.1" minimum, 26" of course. Would also consider other DH tyres of the era e.g., Maxxis Lopes Bling Bling
- X-Lite Ti Kevlar saddle, red or orange, or SDG equivalents incl. Ti Comps, red or yellow kevlar sides, etc.
- Shimano DX PD-M636 peddles
- Roox Chain Dog or DMR chain guide, seat-tube bolt on top, BB bottom half, or best equivalent
- Hope 1st gen rear skewer, silver or red
- Any spare X-Lite headset spacers, red or grey
Three notable updates
Firstly, who's heard of or used buyee? This is a new source to me. It's an international front-end to Japanese auction sites, including the Japanese version of ebay. You purchase through buyee, who purchase from the seller. Goods are shipped to buyee's warehouses where it can sit for up to 30 days. This means you can collate multiple purchases and have them ship it in one parcel (size permitting). You pay a small % fee to buyee for the transaction.
I trailed it with a used XTR M950 cassette, which including shipping with Fedex and taxes, cost less than £45. A great result, because it's in super condition.
Fitting it to the hub, I noticed there wasn't enough clearance, with the rear spider rubbing on the wider Bulb hub. Luckily I had a spare cassette spacer, and now it spins freely. It's pretty tight but it should work fine.
Secondly, in a curious but brilliant set of events, I've found the original owner of this bike. It's the first time I've ever corresponded with an original owner, so I'm super stoked, especially since he has pictures of the bike from back in the day, and it's various build incarnations. Here's a teaser.
Unsurprisingly, he is based in the south-east of England, not far from where I purchased it back in 2019. He bought it new, full build for...wait for it...deep breath...£5,700
He confirmed the disc tab was an after-market addition (he can't remember where or when), and the Bombers it came with were the last forks he had fitted. He was able to confirm it was his due to the modification he made to the top swing arm. @mk one has rightly pointed out that the BB is a little on the high side. If you look closely, the stays are sloping downwards towards the rear wheel, not parallel to the ground. This is due to the shock, which is longer travel than the original Fox unit. He purchased this later on, but saw that the swing arm would hit the seat-tube. So he filed a small amount off. You might remember on purchase, I noticed there was some foam added around this area too. That was all his work.
I've been toying with returning it to it's correct set-up but at the moment, I've leaving as is. It tells a story about how the bike was used and enjoyed, and neatly demonstrates the era where the technology and set-ups were evolving from one week to the next.
It turns out the owner knows most of the folks I've been chatting with about the bike. He did have the Hope rotor I needed but he gave that away to Jamie for the Rob Warner project! Instead, I grabbed a lovely RaceFace big ring from him. I may not use it, but it's handy to have for now.
Thirdly, the chaps from Mondraker confirmed the chain-guide that Tomi used, and was pictured using in the Spanish "Bike" magazine feature, was a proto-type Roox Chain Dog, the single version, not the Cat and Dog version. The finish is raw steel rather than black, and he changed the plates too. Helpful intel.
For the record, this is the current shopping list. If you have anything in the parts bin that would be suitable, please let me know
Drivetrain
- Shimano XTR SL-M950 right side shifter (rear mech)
- Shimano XTR M950 DH (downhill) cranks and single big ring, 5 bolt spider, and BB (1st gen Octalink). I would consider M952 if it was in great nick.
Brakes
- Any Hope C2 levers/component spares
- Hope C2 (or nearest equivalent) 180mm rotor, 5 bolt
Other
- Hutchinson On The Rocks II or best equivalents incl. Squale, 2.1" minimum, 26" of course. Would also consider other DH tyres of the era e.g., Maxxis Lopes Bling Bling
- X-Lite Ti Kevlar saddle, red or orange, or SDG equivalents incl. Ti Comps, red or yellow kevlar sides, etc.
- Shimano DX PD-M636 peddles
- Roox Chain Dog or DMR chain guide, seat-tube bolt on top, BB bottom half, or best equivalent
- Hope 1st gen rear skewer, silver or red
- Any spare X-Lite headset spacers, red or grey
looking forward to seeing more pics of the bike from bitd.As for spares; have a few 5 bolt rotors, will try to find them out. Used to have a Roox and DMR chain guide, think I may have gotten rid of the Roox though but will check. Have the pedals, again will hunt them out and get some pics over to you.
grey-beard
Orange 🍊 Fan
I have a red X-Lite saddle if you're interested.
Top man, cheers
As for spares; have a few 5 bolt rotors, will try to find them out. Used to have a Roox and DMR chain guide, think I may have gotten rid of the Roox though but will check. Have the pedals, again will hunt them out and get some pics over to you.
You have PM
This weeks listening / education
Skip to 1:06:00 for a quick shout out to the Misser brothers, who Dave says were some of his favourite people he worked with. Dave talks a little about how quickly the scene was changing..."...hour by hour..."
Skip to 1:06:00 for a quick shout out to the Misser brothers, who Dave says were some of his favourite people he worked with. Dave talks a little about how quickly the scene was changing..."...hour by hour..."
Last edited:
Also, Tomi posted this at the weekend. I hope you excuse the Klein content. What a dude and it looks so much better being ridden than stuck on a wall.
More buyee gold arrived this week, and for relative peanuts. When was the last time you saw one of these unopened?
Really pleased with the shifter given they are always sold in pairs for high money.
A couple of weeks back I scored a DMR chain device for good money. Whilst worn, it's another option, especially as I scored an identical one in even better condition this week. So, I think that covers that side of things.
Therefore, the shopping list now looks like this. As ever, if you have anything in the garage that matches and you're willing to sell then please let me know
Drivetrain
- Shimano XTR M950 DH (downhill) cranks and single big ring, 5 bolt spider, and BB (1st gen Octalink). I would consider M952 if it was in great nick.
Brakes
- Any Hope C2 levers/component spares
- Hope C2 (or nearest equivalent) 180mm rotor, 5 bolt
Other
- Hutchinson On The Rocks II or best equivalents incl. Squale, 2.1" minimum, 26" of course. Would also consider other DH tyres of the era e.g., Maxxis Lopes Bling Bling
- Shimano DX PD-M636 peddles
- Hope 1st gen rear skewer, silver or red
- Any spare X-Lite headset spacers, red or grey
Really pleased with the shifter given they are always sold in pairs for high money.
A couple of weeks back I scored a DMR chain device for good money. Whilst worn, it's another option, especially as I scored an identical one in even better condition this week. So, I think that covers that side of things.
Therefore, the shopping list now looks like this. As ever, if you have anything in the garage that matches and you're willing to sell then please let me know
Drivetrain
- Shimano XTR M950 DH (downhill) cranks and single big ring, 5 bolt spider, and BB (1st gen Octalink). I would consider M952 if it was in great nick.
Brakes
- Any Hope C2 levers/component spares
- Hope C2 (or nearest equivalent) 180mm rotor, 5 bolt
Other
- Hutchinson On The Rocks II or best equivalents incl. Squale, 2.1" minimum, 26" of course. Would also consider other DH tyres of the era e.g., Maxxis Lopes Bling Bling
- Shimano DX PD-M636 peddles
- Hope 1st gen rear skewer, silver or red
- Any spare X-Lite headset spacers, red or grey
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